Mary Sue #3: Crystal Hawthorne
by Rita Screecher
Summary: Another Mary Sue comes along to Hogwarts. This one’s called Crystal Hawthorne…sounds like a girl from some trashy romance novel, eh?


Title: Mary Sue #3/Crystal Hawthorne Takes Hogwarts by Storm!  
  
Author: Aileen  
  
Author email: [1]teenyaileeny@msn.com  
  
Category: humor  
  
Keywords: Harry Potter, Mary Sue  
  
Spoilers: none  
  
Rating: PG-13 for "sexual" content and scary moments :)  
  
Summary: Another Mary Sue comes along to Hogwarts! This one's called Crystal Hawthorne...sounds like a girl from some trashy romance novel, eh?  
  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The Mai Tais that Draco Malfoy seems to love so much is borrowed from Cassandra Claire's Draco Trilogy.  
  
A/N: Hmm, this is my longest Mary Sue yet. I kind of got into it a little...*smiles sheepishly* Every time I realized I was getting into it a bit too much and I was bogging the story down with details and everything, I tried to end that particular scene quickly and skip ahead a few weeks/months, so bear with the skipping around please! I like the general story; I might even take some bits of it and convert it to an actual Harry Potter novel-length story - minus Mary Sue, of course. Won't you look forward to that...*grin*  
  
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Witch Weekly  
  
Volume 183, No. 2  
  
Week of January 14, 2002  
  
Welcome to another edition of Witch Weekly! We hope you enjoyed our last two articles that replaced the customary Mary Sue Story Contest about why you should normally avoid writing Mary Sues when you write fan fiction, and in general, how to write good fan fiction! But we are now reverting back to the usual weekly Mary Sue Story Contest, and boy, after two weeks of not publishing any stories, we sure got a lot piling up in our mailboxes! Rita Screecher, the lovely woman who handles the contest, was kept quite busy these couple of weeks, and we're sure that she enjoyed reading every single story! *screams and shrieks are heard in the background, and all activity in the Witch Weekly office building has halted, all listening curiously. An extremely strident, piercing voice is heard screeching, "Never again! From now on, if we don't publish a Mary Sue Story every week and you allow all these stories to pile up on my desk, I quit!" The voice breaks off into sobs, then resumes its  
screams: "I need a break! I deserve a vacation! Get me out of here!" The voice fades in the distance as the owner of the voice is carried off bodily by security, and the entire building resumes its normal activity. The editor blinks a few times, then goes on.* Like I was saying, I'm sure that she, er, thoroughly enjoyed reading them.  
  
This week's winner is a middle-aged woman named Jeanine Chapstik. She enjoys reading romance novels, and in her novel "The Trashier the Better!" she compares and contrasts the 5600 different romance novels she has read in the past 25 years. "Oh, I just love romance novels," she gushes. "They're just so...romancy!" Well, we thank Ms. Chapstik for giving up some of her reading time to writing a Mary Sue Story for us, and hope that she has a wonderful time reading the 150 romance novels we sent her as a prize for being the winner. ...Right, then, here's the winning story!  
  
Crystal Hawthorne Takes Hogwarts by Storm!  
  
By Jeanine Chapstik  
  
Crystal Hawthorne stood on top of the Astronomy Tower, facing the ultimate evilness: Voldemort. She trembled inside, but did not show it on her face. She stood there, looking evil straight in the eye and said, "You have gone far, Voldemort" - she spat out the name with disgust - "but as the prophecy has declared, one will prevail. And that one - is me."  
  
Nine months earlier...  
  
Crystal Hawthorne looked at the scarlet train in anticipation and delight. She was finally going to Hogwarts! She had begged her mother continuously while going to that horrid little community witchcraft and wizardry school for six ghastly years, and her mother had finally relented. She was going to Hogwarts to complete her last year of education, and Crystal was ecstatic.  
  
"Ron, do shut up, will you?" A teenage girl that looked to be Crystal's age with slightly bushy hair walked past, already wearing her Hogwarts robes. Pinned to it was a shiny silver badge that said "Head Girl" on it.  
  
"Excuse me, miss," Crystal called out, "I'm new to Hogwarts."  
  
"Oh, you must be the new student!" the girl said kindly. "I've heard all about you. You were at the top of all your classes at your old school, and you decided to come to Hogwarts for your seventh year."  
  
"Yes, that's me," Crystal smiled a gorgeous smile, dazzling white teeth winking out from behind full scarlet lips. "I'm Crystal Hawthorne."  
  
"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl said, "and this is my friend Ron Weasley." She gestured to the tall lanky boy with fiery red hair that stood next to her. He nodded in Crystal's general direction, a bit distracted.  
  
"Where's Harry?" he said impatiently. "He said he'd meet us here at 10:40. It's already 10:55. He's going to miss the train if he doesn't hurry..."  
  
Hermione turned to Ron in exasperation. "I've already told you; he's probably having trouble getting here because of those beastly relatives of his."  
  
"Harry?" Crystal asked, her delicate brow furrowing. "You don't mean - Harry Potter?"  
  
"Yes, Harry Potter," Hermione said, "He's a seventh year like us." She caught the look of amazement on Crystal's face, and said hurriedly, "Oh, don't make a big deal out of it; Harry doesn't like to be fussed over just because he's the `famous Harry Potter.' "  
  
"No, I wasn't going to," Crystal said, "I can understand how he feels."  
  
Somebody accidentally jostled Crystal as they walked past, and Crystal staggered back a few steps. The person quickly reached out and helped her recover her balance.  
  
"Thank you," Crystal said, looking up. And almost stopped breathing.  
  
In front of her was a young man. He had a shock of blond hair so pale it was almost white, and it looked soft and impossibly fine. His eyes were a piercing gray. He was tall and slender, and his features were sharp and seemed to be cut from stone. He had a face that would shame even Brad Pitt. He was also wearing Hogwarts robes with a badge that said "Head Boy" on it. He looked down at her.  
  
"Are you okay?" he said in a rich voice that made Crystal go weak at the knees.  
  
"I'm fine," she managed to say, and he gave her a brief nod, and walked briskly away. Crystal stared after him.  
  
"Crystal?" A voice broke into her thoughts. She was jolted back to reality.  
  
"Who was that man?" she asked, turning to Hermione. She made a disgusted face.  
  
"That was Draco Malfoy. Don't hang out with him if you know what's good for you," she advised.  
  
"Why not?" she inquired, staring in the direction where Malfoy had disappeared. "He's...wonderful."  
  
Ron snorted. "Malfoy? Wonderful? Erm, are you sure you don't have some sort of drinking problem?"  
  
"Ron!" Hermione said, "That wasn't very nice." She turned to Crystal, who was still staring dreamily off in the distance. "Malfoy isn't exactly the kindest person you'll ever meet," Hermione explained. "Actually - he's probably the worst person you'll ever meet. He's sarcastic and drawling and just completely awful, and...are you listening to me?"  
  
Crystal's eyes were glazed over, and Hermione couldn't tell if she was even breathing. She took Crystal by the shoulders and shook her. "Crystal! Snap out of it!"  
  
"'Lo, everyone," came a new masculine voice. Crystal blinked, and the glazed look she had on her face left. She returned to Earth in time to hear Ron say, "Harry! You finally got here! What took you so long?"  
  
"Crystal, this is Harry, Harry, this is Crystal Hawthorne. She's the new student at Hogwarts; she's in our year," Hermione explained. Harry pushed his hair out of his eyes and said tiredly, "Nice to meet you, Crystal."  
  
"Nice to meet you too, Harry," Crystal said, smiling at Harry.  
  
"Yes, yes, nice for you to be so formal and polite, where were you?" Ron asked. Then - "Explain later! The train's leaving!"  
  
The four of them turned in time to see the train starting up. They yelled in a panic, "Wait for us!" and raced towards the nearest door. Luckily, someone saw them and opened the door for them, and they jumped on.  
  
A few hours later:  
  
"Hawthorne, Crystal!"  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
The Gryffindor table burst into cheers as Crystal, elated, found a seat next to Hermione, who congratulated her with a big smile. Crystal barely heard the rest of the Sorting, and instead stared at Malfoy the entire time, who shook hands with everybody who got sorted into Slytherin as they sat down. Crystal had the wild desire to stand on the table and shout, "I want to be in Slytherin with you, Draco!" but she suppressed it. She did, however, perk up to hear the announcement of the year's Yule Ball.  
  
"This year, the Yule Ball shall be held in the Great Hall, for sixth- and seventh-years only. The rest of the school - including any first- or second-years who turn in permission slips signed by their parent or guardian within a month - is going on a trip to Hogsmeade."  
  
The reaction to this announcement was mixed. Most first- and second-year students were delighted for the special permission to go to Hogsmeade, but the older students were a bit disgruntled at hearing the part about only sixth- and seventh-years being able to go to the Yule Ball. Dumbledore held up a hand for silence, then he continued.  
  
"Teachers will be chaperoning the trip, and we will be dividing the students up into groups, a teacher heading each group. The group lists will be posted in the Great Hall a month before the trip. This means that the Yule Ball - will be unchaperoned."  
  
The upper classmen cheered their voice boxes out at this announcement. Many began planning to stock up on butterbeer and "protective wear" for the occasion.  
  
"However!" Dumbledore called over the din, and immediately everyone hushed.  
  
"However," Dumbledore said, "We will be relying on the prefects and the Head Boy and Head Girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, to make sure that things do not get out of hand. They will be the ones to contact us if there is any trouble, and they will be the ones that will get you in hot water if you're caught doing anything...well, inappropriate." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at this announcement. "If we hear of any inappropriate going-ons during the Yule Ball, you can be sure that there will be no other occasions such as these where we leave you responsible upperclassmen unchaperoned." Dumbledore put a lot of "oomph" in the word "responsible" and a bit of sarcasm as well. "That is all." He sat down, smiling broadly. The entire Great Hall seemed to shake with the cheers of the school. Dumbledore stood back up.  
  
"Oh yes - tuck in!"  
  
The plates magically filled themselves with food, and the whole school got to eating.  
  
A week later:  
  
Crystal had rapidly climbed to the top of her classes, with the exception of Hermione of course, who she had almost all her classes with. The first day of Potions, Snape sneered at her and said, "Well, well, another Gryffindor..." but by the end of class was pleasantly surprised at Crystal's knowledge of Potions. He didn't take off any points from Gryffindor during the entire class, which was a rarity. She was still madly in love with Malfoy, of course, which Hermione, Harry, and Ron thought was utterly disgusting. No matter how much persuasion they used, she refused to listen to any of it, and instead tuned them out whenever they even mentioned the words "Malfoy" "is" "an" "idiot" together in a sentence. Malfoy seemed quite taken with her as well, and from what Crystal heard (from Lavender and Parvati, the gossip queens of the school), he was thinking of asking her to the Yule Ball.  
  
Blah, blah, blah, skip ahead to the week before the Yule Ball; not much changes between the first week of school and then.  
  
Crystal was euphoric. Malfoy, or "dear, darling Draco" as she liked to call him, had just asked her to the Yule Ball during Potions. Crystal fell down on her bed and shrieked with joy for a little while. She turned over on her stomach, remembering how "dear, darling Draco" had asked her.  
  
She had been chopping up some snake skins for her potion when he came up to her, all 5' 11" of him.  
  
"You're going to the Yule Ball with me," he drawled. He hadn't really asked, Crystal remembered, it was more like an order. Surprised, all she could do was nod and blush. He sauntered away, and Crystal stared after him. She had a habit of doing that, you see. Hermione, who happened to be working on her potion just behind Crystal, whispered, "You're going to the Yule Ball with Draco?" Crystal turned and grinned.  
  
"Can you believe it?" she gushed. "I'm going out with the dishiest guy in school!" She squealed and jumped up and down a few times, but stopped when Snape came over and said in his oily voice, "This isn't a social occasion, ladies. Get back to work." This comment was mainly directed toward Hermione, for Snape rather liked Crystal, and she was his especial pet (A/N: gross gross gross gross gross!!).  
  
The week of the Yule Ball  
  
Crystal looked at herself critically in the tall mirror that she had magicked into her dorm. She was wearing a strapless deep blue dress that nearly brushed the floor, and it laced up in the back. Around her slender neck was a delicate silver necklace that sparkled at the base of her throat. Her dark blonde hair (Author's Note: fake, of course; her brown roots were showing quite clearly) was swept up off her neck except for a few tendrils that framed her face. She wore very little makeup; in fact all she had on was a little lip gloss. Malfoy had told her that he would meet her just outside the doors of the Great Hall at 7:15, a few minutes after the ball began. "It's always nice to make a late entrance," he explained to her. "It makes you seem more important." Crystal checked the clock that was sitting on her bedside table. It was 7:13. She would have to hurry!  
  
Crystal rushed down the steps of the huge castle, and in her haste bumped into...  
  
"Draco!" Crystal said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Draco looked miffed. "You were late; I came to find where you were."  
  
"I'm not late," she protested. Draco displayed his watch.  
  
"It's 7:16," he informed her. Crystal sighed inwardly, but she melted when Draco offered her his arm. They walked down the rest of the steps together, and when they got to the heavy doors of the Great Hall, Draco gently took her hand off of his arm, which was digging into his flesh, and opened the door for her with a flourish. She went underneath the tall doorway, and Draco followed. She took his arm again, and they walked into the Great Hall together.  
  
A few hours later...  
  
Crystal put her head on Draco's shoulder as they swayed to the music. She was in heaven. Draco seemed to be falling asleep. She raised her head and looked around at all the other couples. Ron was dancing with Lavender Brown and Hermione with Harry. Neville was dancing with Ginny, who looked as though she wanted to be somewhere else. Neville had grown to be quite a handsome young man, but his gracefulness - or, lack of - hadn't changed much. Ginny seemed to be wincing with every step that Neville took. Crystal smiled. They all seemed to be having a wonderful time. She looked at Draco. His eyes were closed. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or if he was merely closing his eyes because he enjoyed dancing with her. Crystal hoped it was the latter.  
  
"Draco," she murmured. His eyes opened slowly, and they were slightly glazed over and unfocused.  
  
"Mmm," he said back, his gray eyes slightly clouded - was it with tiredness, or was it because of the six Mai Tai's he had? Crystal wondered.  
  
"The ball is almost over," she told him.  
  
"Is it?" he mumbled back. He leaned down towards her.  
  
He's going to kiss me! Crystal thought. She leaned closer. Their lips were just about to meet when -  
  
BANG. Several screams, coming from the direction of the main entrance, filled the air, which was immediately cut off as though someone had pushed the mute button (Author's note: It's a Muggle device). Crystal jerked away from Malfoy. What was happening? She looked over the heads of everyone, and saw -  
  
"It's - it's You-Know-Who," someone gasped. And promptly fainted.  
  
There was immediate panic. Everyone ran around frantically, trying to find an exit. This cleared a pathway straight from Voldemort to Crystal (Malfoy had run away the second he realized that Voldemort had arrived). Crystal now saw the reason why the screams were cut off so abruptly. Several students were lying spread-eagle on the ground at Voldemort's feet.  
  
"My daughter," Voldemort said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry jerking his head in Voldemort's direction, and then Crystal's. She saw Harry whisper something in Hermione and Ron's ears, and they too looked in shock at Voldemort and Crystal. Voldemort strode down the length of the Great Hall, which by now was nearly empty. He was now standing right in front of Crystal. He looked down from his immense height at her. Crystal looked up. He was very tall.  
  
"Don't recognize me?" he hissed at her. "I am your father."  
  
Crystal was shocked. But then she quickly recovered.  
  
"You?" she spat. "You wish."  
  
Voldemort laughed, a high, mirthless laugh that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.  
  
"How do you think you know Parseltongue if I am not your father?" he asked, his eyes flashing. Crystal was even more shocked. Parseltongue?  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped, "I don't know Parseltongue, thank you very much."  
  
"I'm speaking it to you right now," he said, smiling a cold grin. "And you're speaking it right back."  
  
Crystal glanced at Hermione and Ron, and they nodded faintly to indicate that she was, indeed, speaking Parseltongue. Harry, on the other hand, looked determined. Crystal couldn't figure out why - until Harry shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and pointed his wand furiously in Voldemort's direction. Unfortunately, Voldemort, who had amazingly quick reactions, spun aside. Crystal ducked the spell, and it hit the opposite wall and bounced off harmlessly. Voldemort faced Harry now.  
  
"Ah...Harry Potter. It seems like just yesterday that you were a baby, crying for your parents as they collapsed in front of you." Voldemort twirled his wand. "You might have defeated me once, Potter...but this time around you don't have your mother's love to protect you." Voldemort smiled again, and lazily turned the wand on Hermione.  
  
"Can your mother's love save your girlfriend here?" he asked. Then he flicked his wrist, and the wand was now pointing directly at Ron. "Or your gangly little friend?" Voldemort laughed. "I think not..."  
  
Crystal's head was spinning. She had to do something. She yelled the first spell that came to her head: "Wingardium Leviosa!" Voldemort shot about 6 feet into the air. For once, he actually looked alarmed. He rose higher and higher, gaining speed as he got closer to the ceiling. He was going too fast to use his wand to counter the spell, and with a sickening CRACK he hit the high ceiling. He fell, faster than when he had been going up, and smashed into the ground at full force. Crystal winced at the sound. Voldemort was lying on the ground, unmoving. Was he...dead? She looked at Harry, then Hermione, then Ron. They all had similar uncertain looks on their faces. No; there was movement from his fingers, and before they knew what hit them, Voldemort was gone. He had vanished.  
  
The teachers rushed in at that moment.  
  
"Is everyone okay?" Professor McGonagall said tightly, then turned a very ashen color as she saw the four students lying face down on the floor. She whirled on Dumbledore.  
  
"So it's true. What did I tell you, Albus? I knew there was trouble the second that you brought up that we should allow the Yule Ball to be unchaperoned."  
  
"Now, now, Minerva," Dumbledore said. He turned to Harry.  
  
"From what we heard from the prefects that immediately contacted us the second they realized that Voldemort had arrived at the school, all but eight students got out safely. Four were killed on the spot. Four didn't leave the Hall. Explain what happened."  
  
"Voldemort came -"  
  
"He killed them! Just like that -"  
  
"He came up to Crystal -"  
  
"He said he's her daughter -"  
  
"She's a Parseltongue -"  
  
"Harry tried to stop him -"  
  
"Crystal used a levitating charm and he smashed into the ceiling and came back down and crashed into the floor -"  
  
"And he disappeared." All four said this last sentence at the same time.  
  
"Did he...Disapparate?" Ron said tentatively. Hermione turned on him and said, "How many times do I have to tell you? You can't Apparate or Disapparate on Hogwarts grounds? Honestly, Ron, you should really read Hogwarts, A History."  
  
Harry yelled, "I can't believe you, Hermione. We let Voldemort get away, and you're here babbling about some stupid book!" Harry immediately flushed and said softly, "I'm sorry, Hermione."  
  
"'S okay, Harry. I was being stupid," Hermione answered quietly. Then she blew out a sigh. "Okay. Let's think about this. How could Voldemort just simply disappear in front of our eyes? Did anyone of you see his wand anywhere? Could he have used some spell that can get him out of the castle or something, other than Disapparating?"  
  
Crystal said slowly, "Maybe he's an Animagus."  
  
Everyone turned to look at her.  
  
"An Animagus. A really small one, possibly an insect of some sort. He might even still be in this room somewhere."  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately averted their eyes to the floor. Ron even got down on his knees and began searching the rubble around the gaping hole that Voldemort had left when he crashed into the ground. Dumbledore and the rest of the professors, however, did not look.  
  
"Excellent idea, Ms. Hawthorne," Dumbledore began icily, "but if you had done your homework, you would have known that Parseltongues cannot become Animagi. They are physically incapable of successfully becoming an Animagi."  
  
Crystal flushed and murmured a soft apology. Dumbledore gave her a curt nod, and turned away.  
  
"Minerva, I want you to send an owl to Cornelius. Have him come immediately. He may be able to protest that Voldemort is not alive, but these are clear facts: there is a gaping hole in the middle of the floor and four students are lying dead from the Avada Kedavra Killing Curse."  
  
Professor McGonagall nodded and hurried out. Then Dumbledore addressed the rest of the professors.  
  
"We are going to have to tighten security around the school," he said. "Please inform the students that trips to Hogsmeade are now forbidden. No one is to leave Hogwarts grounds at any time, and no one is to even leave the castle without written permission from one of the professors."  
  
The professors gravely left. Now only Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Crystal were left in the Great Hall.  
  
"You are Voldemort's daughter," Dumbledore said, more of a statement than a question. Crystal nodded faintly. Dumbledore heaved a sigh.  
  
"Well, if this isn't the biggest Mary Sue I've ever heard," he muttered. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Crystal furrowed their brows in confusion.  
  
"Never mind," he told them. "When I said that no one is to leave the grounds, I meant nobody. I have allowed you three to get away with things in the past. You might have been lucky before, but now that Voldemort is fully alive and ready to kick some booty, you could be in some serious danger." He directed this last remark to Harry in particular.  
  
"Crystal," Dumbledore began, "obviously from tonight's events you have deduced that Voldemort has arrived at Hogwarts to claim you, his daughter. You mustn't go with him, no matter what he says or offers you. There is an ancient prophecy that says that when the ultimate evil claims his daughter, persuades her to join the Dark forces by her own choice, and binds her to his side, evil will reign throughout the world, including the Muggle world. However, the prophecy also says that one may prevail, and prevent this from happening." He paused.  
  
"Harry," Dumbledore said, "most believe that the one who will prevail is you." Harry gave a start. "That is why I'm specifically telling you not to go wandering around outside the castle. Danger always seems to find you; you needn't go looking for it. When the time is right, you will know it. Keep an eye on Crystal. You two as well," he said, turning to Hermione and Ron. The three of them nodded in a determined manner. Dumbledore gave the three of them a fond, fatherly look.  
  
"My dear Harry," Dumbledore murmured, "how the world loads its weight onto you." A tear glistening in the corner of his eye, he turned and left.  
  
Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked exhausted. Crystal, on the other hand, was angry that Dumbledore had only given them a fond look.  
  
Skip ahead about 5 months; it's late May now and Crystal just broke up with Malfoy.  
  
Crystal threw herself onto her bed and sobbed. Malfoy had come up to her in Herbology and offhandedly tossed her a note: "Hey, I'm going out with Blaise Zabini now, so we're over with." Then he sauntered away and joined Blaise, who was smirking in self-satisfaction. Malfoy had gently grasped her hands and pried them off of the Mandrake she had been repotting, and pulled her close and snogged her passionately, dirt, screaming Mandrakes, pink fluffy earmuffs and all. Crystal turned back to her Mandrake, her beautiful big eyes filling with tears, and when they fell with a splash onto the Mandrake she was repotting, its mouth got even bigger (if that's even possible) and its screams were so harsh that its body convulsed as well.  
  
She cried herself out, then sat up, rearranging her hair and checking her makeup in a mirror.  
  
"This magic mascara really works," she said aloud, admiring her thick black eyelashes in the hand held mirror. "It doesn't run at all!"  
  
Just then, a large, menacing looking owl swooped in, dropped a note on her bedspread, and flew off again. She picked it up and flicked it open. It was written on black paper in silver ink.  
  
"Dear Crystal,  
  
I deeply regret breaking up with you. Please accept my apologies and meet me in the Astronomy Tower at midnight tonight. I will be waiting there for you.  
  
Love, hugs, and passionate snogs forever,  
  
Your snookie Dracykins  
  
Crystal gaped at the letter. She reread it. Then again. Her snookie Dracykins loved her! He really loved her. (A/N: he really must love her if he's using her pet name for him. "Snookie Dracykins"??) She laughed and twirled around, hugging the letter to her maidenly bosom. She was going to sneak out tonight to go to the Astronomy Tower, where her beloved Dracykins was waiting for her.  
  
"He's so romantic," she sighed. Then she squealed again.  
  
Hours later...  
  
Her roommates were asleep. Crystal had put on a scintillating filmy silver dress that was cut very low, displaying her perfect cleavage. She let her hair cascade down around her shoulders and wore no makeup or jewelry at all. She put on a bathrobe over it, and when her roommates all announced that they were going to bed, she feigned a huge yawn and said, "I think I'll go as well." She climbed into her four-poster that was next to the door and drew the hangings around it securely. She pretended to be asleep as her roommates fell asleep one by one. She checked the clock on her bedside table again; it was 11:40. She had been repeatedly checking the clock every five minutes, impatient for midnight to roll around. Finally at 11:50, she quietly drew the curtains away and crept down the stairs. She reached the Astronomy Tower in no time. She climbed the long, spiraling stairs, panting with the exertion. When she had finally gotten to the top, she was hot and sweaty. She peeled off  
the bathrobe, and was startled to hear a low whistle to the right of her. She turned. Draco was standing there, grinning as he eyed her up and down.  
  
"Got all dressed up for me, did you sweetcakes?" he said, gazing at her *cough* large breasts. He took another swallow out of the Mai Tai he had been drinking and downed the rest in a gulp. He took out the green umbrella that had been ornamenting the glass and twirled it with his long fingers. He crushed it in his hand and tossed it aside carelessly. He came closer to her. He grasped her wrists with his strong hands, his long fingers curling around them like a strange sort of bracelet. He pulled her close and tilted her face up to his. He smiled again, but this time Crystal noticed something peculiar about his smile. It was almost a sneer. He bent and whispered in her ear, "You are so naïve. One of these days..." His voice lowered, and Crystal shivered - was it from excitement or was it out of fright? she wondered.  
  
"One of these days it'll get you killed."  
  
Crystal tried to jerk away, but his hands were holding her wrists so tightly she couldn't move.  
  
"Let me go," she said, struggling against him in vain. "Let me go!"  
  
"No."  
  
A new voice, a vaguely familiar one, emanated from a dark corner in the room behind her. She tried to twist around to see the source of the voice, but Draco didn't let her. Instead, he smiled at the unknown person and said, "My Lord...you have arrived."  
  
My Lord?  
  
"I have, Draco Malfoy - and I see that you accomplished your mission," Voldemort said. "You got her to come willingly. Very willingly, from the looks of what she's wearing. My dear, sweet daughter - you weren't going to do some dirty things with this young man, were you?" he sneered at Crystal. "That wouldn't be very smart...it could get you pregnant. Have you no foresight? I'm disappointed in you, young lady..." He laughed, and Crystal felt the urge to slap him. She would have, if Draco hadn't been gripping her wrists so tightly.  
  
"Shall I release her, my Lord?" Draco asked, looking back down at Crystal. "It's a pity you're so beautiful," he said, addressing her.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Crystal whispered. Draco merely smiled.  
  
"Release her," Voldemort hissed at him. The death grip on Crystal's wrists loosened, and Draco's hands dropped to his sides.  
  
"Turn and face me, my daughter," Voldemort said. "Have you no respect for your father?" He laughed again. Crystal slowly turned and looked evil straight in the eye.  
  
"You have gone far, Voldemort" - she spat out the name with disgust - "but as the prophecy has declared, one will prevail. And that one - is me."  
  
All this time, her hand had been inching towards her wand, which she had concealed in a pocket on her dress. By the time she had gotten to it, and she spun around quickly and screamed, "Expelliarmus!" Malfoy flew in the air and slammed into the wall behind him. He looked knocked out. His wand flew into her hand, and she chucked it out the window, not having anywhere to keep it (Author's Note: his wand was 13 inches, while her own wand was only 8; her pocket wasn't big enough to hold his wand although it could hold hers). She then spun around, prepared to disarm Voldemort as well, but he was directly behind her now. Caught off guard, she stumbled back a few steps.  
  
"So I suppose you aren't some pathetic little blondie," Voldemort said, oddly in the tone of a proud father. "You're relatively competent. You would make a lovely addition to my group of Death Eaters."  
  
Crystal spat in his face. "Never," she said fiercely. Voldemort's face twisted into an ugly expression. He wiped his face with the back of his sleeve, and said, "Tut, tut - disobeying your father. I'm afraid I shall have to ground you for this. Rundencia!"  
  
The ground opened up underneath her and swallowed her up. She fell, screaming as she went. She forced herself to look up as she fell, almost afraid at what she'd see. Voldemort was standing next to the hole, looking down at her and laughing. She laughed inside as well, knowing that Voldemort was done for. She screamed one final spell as she fell, putting all of her energy into it, knowing that she would never survive the fall and wanting her death not to be in vain. "Avada Kedavra!" She felt a huge amount of energy erupt from the end of her wand. Then she knew no more.  
  
A week later...  
  
School was over. Hermione, Harry, and Ron had completed their education at Hogwarts, as well as their fellow classmates. Ginny still had a year to go, and they teased her about it.  
  
"Still stuck with Snape for another year, I'm afraid," Harry said to her jokingly. Hermione pushed him playfully.  
  
"Hush, Harry. Don't make her feel any worse about it than she already does," she said, her eyes twinkling. Then her expression fell a bit.  
  
"I just wish...that Crystal had gotten a chance to graduate with us as well."  
  
Harry, Ron, and Ginny nodded soberly.  
  
"Dumbledore told me that Voldemort had performed the Falling Spell on Crystal. You know - the spell that makes the ground open up and makes you fall until someone reverses it?" Hermione said. "Crystal must have not known that the fall would never end and reach the ground. She probably thought that she was going to die."  
  
"Maybe...maybe it's...a good thing," Ron began, "that she didn't know. If she had known, she probably wouldn't have tried the Killing Curse on You-Know-Who. She would have waited for him to take the spell off, and who knows what he would've done to her afterwards to convince her to join his side and become a Death Eater. She might even have listened to him. You know? It's probably good that she didn't know about the Falling Spell. But seriously, even if she didn't know about it, she had to have known that he wouldn't really have killed her; he needed her to take over the world."  
  
"Ron, if you're falling because someone put a spell on you, you're probably going to think that the person's killing you. You're not going to stop and think about what's logical or not," Harry said. Ron sighed.  
  
"Still, it's amazing that her mind was clear enough to think of aiming her wand up and perform the Killing Curse. If I were in her position, I'd be terrified and would probably freeze up," Ron admitted.  
  
"Dumbledore said that he wasn't sure that Voldemort died from the curse," Hermione said. "I mean, he's pretty sure; Voldemort might have survived the backlash of the curse once, but it's a slim chance that he can survive the Killing Curse twice." She shivered. "I hope that he died," Hermione said with relish, then blushed at her own intensity. Harry put his arm around her comfortingly.  
  
"Hey, don't I get a hug, too?" Ron said, a bit put off. Ginny laughed and threw her arms around him.  
  
"I'm going to miss you all next year," she said, looking around at the three of them. Harry laughed.  
  
"Hey, at least when I leave, Hogwarts will resume normalcy!" he smiled. "I'll probably bring trouble and danger along with me to whatever job I choose, but..." He trailed off and shrugged. Hermione put her head on his shoulder.  
  
"And I'll be there along with you," she said, smiling up at him.  
  
"Hey, me too!" Ron said, also grinning. "Don't forget about me!"  
  
Ginny smiled at the trio, inseparable from the beginning of their journey through Hogwarts all the way up until the very end. What adventures would the wizarding world throw at them next? she wondered. They boarded the train together, still laughing and joking. The train started up and disappeared out of sight into the distance.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
References  
  
1. mailto:purplehippo60@aol.com 


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